Chapter 1086: Chapter 260: Sea of Shining, the Maritime Route to Ambeser (Part 2)
Brand thought it certainly wasn’t the White Lion Armor causing the problem. He turned his head and looked at James with a questioning gaze. The cargo hold of the ’Distant Land’ was filled with goods and ballast; if strange sounds could be heard there, other than rats, they were most likely coming from outside the cabin. If it was rats, there was nothing to worry about, but if it was coming from outside the cabin, then there was a problem. Sounds do not travel in water as well as in air, and with a layer of ship deck between, to hear sounds meant that either the thing outside was very close or it was something huge.
"Which side?" the young Captain immediately asked.
Brand turned his gaze to his subordinate, and Caglis immediately responded, "Should be the port side."
The young Captain reacted quickly and immediately turned and gestured, "Drop the Crystal Chain, port side!" Not far away, a sailor saw his gesture and ran over, pulling a rope from a coil attached to something that looked like a crystal, and with a splash, threw it into the sea on the port side of the ’Distant Land’. Brand recognized that thing; it was a special sound-sensitive Magic Crystal, which vibrates if a sound source approaches. In the Outer Sea, where there are many monsters, sailors often use this to determine whether there are Sea Beasts lurking under the ship. It’s said that experienced sailors can determine what creature is approaching just by the vibration frequency of the Crystal Chain.
But that sailor obviously lacked that ability, he couldn’t help but exclaim after throwing the Crystal Chain down: "There’s something down there, lots of them!"
"Sound the alarm, prepare for battle!"
The young Captain’s face turned serious; the sea was calm above, yet unknown creatures had already surrounded the ship below, obviously displaying intelligence and ill intent. But Brand was the quickest to react; before James could say anything, Brand had already rushed forward and cut the rope in the sailor’s hand with a sword. The sailor was slightly stunned and saw something underwater pulling that rope down with a whoosh—the force of whatever was underwater was astonishing, and if Brand hadn’t acted, the sailor would have been dragged down along with the rope.
The sailor was so frightened his face turned pale, he even forgot to thank him for a moment. But Brand glanced over the side of the ship and said, "It’s humanoid creatures."
Among the many monsters in the Outer Sea of the Sea of Shining, only a few have the characteristic of being humanoid—apart from several Fishman tribes it’s either Mermaids or Nagas, and then there are the Lizardman pirates. But Lizardman pirates don’t soak in water, Mermaids rarely attack humans, and those who approach silently are either Fishmen or Nagas.
James was still skeptical that the young Lord could identify the enemy in the sea with just one look, but the fact that there were enemies below the sea was undeniable—the other party had already shown aggressive inclinations. A sailor ran over to the main mast and rang the alarm bell, and sailors from below deck quickly rushed up fully armed. The ’Distant Land’ was a large ship, with forty sailors onboard, plus the First Mate, Second Officer, and Sailor Chief, and Navigator, Brand also ordered his officers to bring up the Officer Team of the White Lion Infantry, crowding the deck with people.
Brand showed much more composure than the young Captain at that moment; he was clear about the strength at his disposal, the ’Distant Land’ now compared to a Kingdom battleship of Level 3 and below, which any pirate group encountering such a ship would find troublesome. Brand stared at the sea below, somehow recalling the famous hunter submarines of the Britons in history. He didn’t know if the ’Distant Land’ now counted as the disguised coal ship warship back then.
Though the nature is slightly different.
At this point, dark shadows appeared on the sea surface, forming white streaks as triangular fins broke through the water. Brand immediately recognized them as sharks. At least sixteen or seventeen tribes in the Sea of Shining drive sharks for hunting; Sea People tame sharks just as ordinary residents of land tame wolves. Simply seeing sharks didn’t help identify the other party.
James had the same idea; he tucked his pipe into his pocket, drew his sword, and approached the side of the ship. But at that moment, a melodious singing sounded from the sea.
"It’s Siren!" The young officers of the White Lion Infantry were fine, but the sailors seemed to radically change their color and scream upon hearing it. Sirens are mythological creatures, and legend has it they use their enchanting songs in the Outer Sea to lure ships off course. In the epics of the Cruz people, Sirens are depicted as bird-bodied women, but Brand knew they bear no actual relation to Harpies underground in Jogen Digan.
The real Sirens are bona fide mythical creatures, their upper bodies resembling those of women and below the knee are bird claws. They are more captivating than any women in the Mortal World, not to mention that their enchanting voices can make anyone who hears them lose their soul. The myriad descriptions in myth consistently tell of ship crews losing their souls to the Sirens and wandering the sea until they become ghostly Ghost Ships. Those living by the sea mostly grow up on such stories, causing the sailors to be frightened out of their wits upon hearing the song, whereas Brand’s ’country bumpkins’ seemed more composed.
"Quick, use earplugs!" James immediately commanded, sailors are quite superstitious, and while no one has seen Sirens for hundreds of years, just their legend is enough for those living from the sea to prepare thoroughly. James immediately took out the prepared earplugs and plugged them into his ears. The sailors followed suit, and even the officers from the White Lion Infantry had come prepared and began to use earplugs.
Brand had several years of seafaring experience and had ventured into the Outer Sea before; he was naturally more familiar with the Ocean’s offerings than James. But at that moment, he didn’t stop the young Captain’s order. The enchanting song seemed to have a penetrating power, briefly clouding his mind but he quickly cleared up—this wasn’t the song of a sea demon—he turned and handed his earplugs to Antitina. The noble lady glared at him bashfully; everyone feared the soul-stealing song of the Siren, but her Lord didn’t believe, and she couldn’t help but dislike his disregard for his own safety.
Everyone present noticed the young Lord didn’t use earplugs yet seemed unaffected by the song, causing a ripple of surprise among them. They knew Brand was a Highland Knight and unanimously attributed his resistance to the mysteriousness of a Wizard, but they didn’t know Brand’s Will Attribute was astoundingly high. Let alone that this wasn’t the song of the real Siren, Brand thought even if a real Siren came here, they might not be able to entice him.
He turned to the Captain and said, "It’s not the Siren, it’s Mermaids."
"What?" The Captain, with earplugs still in, thought he heard wrong.
"It’s Mermaids," Brand said decisively, "It’s the Naga Clan underneath the sea, I know Mermaids from the Sea of Shining often act with them."
...(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation or monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)
